Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul was the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. History Early life In her youth, Talia travels the world with her father learning and adapting his intellect and skills which she proves to be more competent than any of Ghul's other children. She excels to the point in managing his criminal and legitimate operations, that she is eventually appointed as Ghul's primary secondary despite the fact that Ghul considers women to be inherently inferior to men. Ghul is supportive of his daughter though has commented that if possible, he would correct "that sole failing" in his child suggesting that he fears any possible distortion of her through chemical or biological modifications despite his aversion to her as a woman. Batman Talia first meets Batman when he rescues her from Dr. Darkk, apparently the leader of the League of Assassins. It is eventually revealed that the League is just one part of Ra's al Ghul's organization, The Demon, and that Darkk apparently turned against Ra's after failing in a mission (the usual punishment for this being death). At the end of the story, she shoots and kills Darkk to save Batman's life. Dick Grayson (Robin) is kidnapped. Ra's al Ghul enters the Batcave, revealing to Batman that he knows Batman's secret identity and saying that Talia was also kidnapped along with Dick. Batman then goes with Ra's to search for Dick and Talia; in the end, it is revealed that Talia loves Batman and that the entire kidnapping is a setup designed by Ra's as a final test of whether or not Batman is suitable as an heir. Though Batman rejects Ra's offer, he nevertheless returns Talia's feelings. In the years since Talia meets Batman on many occasions when she is repeatedly torn between loyalty to her father and her love for Bruce Wayne. However, she has proven an important 'ally' in her way; most prominently, she encourages Batman to return to Gotham City when it is declared a "No Man's Land" following an earthquake, and he has lost his fighting spirit and didn't believe he could save Gotham. The Red Hood After Jason Todd's death at the hands of the Joker, Batman brought his body back to Gotham and buried him with the rest of the Wayne Family. However, several years later, during The Infinite Crisis, Superboy Prime trying to change reality, resurrects Jason with a reality-altering punch. Although Jason is returned to life, his body and mind are still broken from the Joker's attack. Some time later, he is discovered by the League of Assassins and is taken in by Talia and Ra's Al Ghul. Jason spends months in their care, and although his body recuperates, his mind is shattered. Seeing no other way to help him, Talia takes Jason down to the Lazarus Pit and throws his body in while her father regenerates himself. Jason is fully revived in body and mind. Immediately afterward, in order to spare Jason her father's wrath, she aids the boy's escape. Before giving him a passionate kiss, she informs him that Batman had let his killer live. Livid at the fact that the Joker was still alive and that Batman had done nothing more than imprison him again, Jason pursues his own brand of justice. Talia agrees to finance Jason and aid him in his training, so that he can become the second Red Hood. Bane Talia enters a brief alliance with Bane, "The Man Who Broke the Bat," whom Ra's has also considered might be suitable as an heir. However, after a short time, she rejects Bane, though her father still wants her to marry the musclebound assassin. When Bane is defeated by Batman soon after, Ra's gives up trying to match him with Talia. Lexcorp Talia, disillusioned with her father and his plans, leaves him to run LexCorp for Lex Luthor when Luthor becomes President of the United States. Although she seemingly supports Luthor, she secretly works to undermine him, anonymously leaking news of his underhanded dealings to Superman. When the time comes for Luthor's downfall, she sells all of LexCorp's assets to the Wayne Foundation, leaving Luthor penniless and his crimes exposed to all. Death and the Maidens During his travels in Russia in the 18th century, Ra's al Ghul met a woman by whom he had a daughter named Nyssa. Ra's abandons Nyssa at a crucial time: she is tortured, and her entire family is killed in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Seeking vengeance, Nyssa plans to use her considerable wealth and resources to kill Ra's by befriending, kidnapping, and brainwashing Talia, turning her into a weapon to kill their father. To this end, she captured Talia and, using a Lazarus Pit, killed and resurrected her in rapid succession, leaving Talia virtually broken from the trauma of dying again and again in so short a time. Rendered apathetic by her time in the camp, unable to feel anything, Nyssa also plans to assassinate Superman with kryptonite bullets she stole from the Batcave, hoping that, by uniting the world in one moment of tragedy, she would manage to rouse herself once more. While Batman is successful in preventing the assassination of Superman, he is unable to stop Nyssa from killing Ra's. This, in turn, is actually part of a greater plan concocted by Ra's, who wanted to ensure that his daughters would accept their destinies as his heirs, and take up his genocidal campaign. Realizing and accepting this, Nyssa and Talia become the heads of The Demon, with Talia disavowing her love for Bruce Wayne as another result of her torture at Nyssa's hands. (Both sisters consider Batman to be their enemy.) Villains United Talia is revealed to be one of the core members of the third Secret Society of Super-Villains (along with Lex Luthor (secretly Alexander Luthor, Jr. in disguise), Black Adam, Doctor Psycho, Deathstroke, and Calculator). This is revealed to be part of one of Nyssa's plans to take over the planet and bring about world peace and equality. Nyssa explains why she and Talia are working with the villains of the Society to Batgirl (Cassandra Cain). ""Vast stockpiles of food rot, while people starve. Millions die from curable diseases, while drug companies rake in the billions. Our environment chokes on our waste, becoming so toxic that life fails. It's genocide by greed, apathy, and neglect. These are the real crimes. Something must change. The Society's plans are vast... they will succeed. I can't stop them. When the world gets a true taste of violent oppression, and their heroes lie dead and broken -- apathy will die. That's when you'll lead my league to sanction key society members. Leaving Talia and I to lead the revolution. A new world will be born, one of peace and equality. Millions of lives will be saved." --Batgirl #67 Nyssa fails to recruit Batgirl to her new League of Assassins, and the Society fails to achieve its goals. One Year Later After Nyssa's apparent death at the hands of Cassandra Cain (who usurps control of The League of Assassins), Talia becomes the new Demon's Head. However, the League of Assassins has apparently splintered and Cassandra Cain has gained partial control. The child of Talia and Batman from Son of the Demon is reintroduced to continuity in the story "Batman & Son", written by Grant Morrison. However, in this version, Talia either did not abandon the child (called Damian) or retrieved him from his adoptive parents and let him be partially raised by The League of Assassins. Talia gives him back to Batman, as part of a grand scheme involving ninja man-bats and the kidnapping of the British Prime Minister's wife. Batman is unsure whether this is his son, but he attempts to deal with the spoiled, hot-tempered child anyway. Damian, effectively raised to be an assassin, kills a costumed villain known as The Spook and nearly kills Tim Drake, the newest Robin. Shortly afterwards, father, mother, and son confront each other on a ship which is destroyed by a torpedo. Talia and Damian survived the explosion, however, Talia continues to keep a close eye on Bruce. Meanwhile, Damien was recently injured severely and has undergone a transplant of all his major organs. Talia is prompted to read the history of Ra's al Ghul to her son Damian by a mysterious figure from Ra's past: the White Ghost. Unknown to her, the White Ghost plans to use Damian as a vessel for Ra's return. However, mother and son manage to escape before the plan is completed. After the escape, Batman confronts the White Ghost; he fights Batman, but accidentally ends up falling into a Lazarus pit. Powers and Abilities *Longevity: Extended lifespan through the use of Lazarus Pits. *Businesswoman: Talia possesses an excellent head for business. *Advanced Combatant: Talia excels in hand-to-hand combat and the use of weapons. *Skilled Assassin *High Intellect: Talia has a high intelligence. Notes *The exact history of the New Earth Talia has not been revealed thus far. In several alternate reality versions such as the graphic novel Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992) explains how Ra's al Ghul met her mother, who was of mixed Chinese and Arab descent, at the Woodstock Festival. Talia's mother later dies of a drug overdose. This version is contrast to the early history listed in Batman: Son of the Demon (1987), which states that Talia's mother was named Melisande and was murdered by a former servant of Ra's named Qayin. Both of these stories are told from the prespective of an adult, Ibn al Xu'ffasch, who does not exist in the DC Universe. *Son of the Demon: Ra's al Ghul successfully enlists Batman's aid in defeating a rogue assassin who had murdered his wife. During this adventure, Batman marries Talia and she becomes pregnant. Batman is nearly killed protecting Talia from an attack by the assassin's agents. In the end, Talia concludes that she can never keep Batman, as he will be continuously forced to defend her. She fakes a miscarriage, and the marriage is dissolved. *In reality, Talia gives birth successfully. The child is left at an orphanage; he is adopted and given the name Ibn al Xu'ffasch. The only clue to the child's heritage is a jewel-encrusted necklace Batman had given to Talia which Talia leaves with the child. *The story used to be considered to be outside of the DC universe's standard continuity. The story has apparently been modified and is once more canon, however. It is referenced in three Elseworlds storylines: Kingdom Come, its sequel The Kingdom, and Brotherhood of the Bat feature two alternate versions of the child as an adult, coming to terms with his dual heritage. *Talia is mentioned in Ra's al Ghul's journals in the Batman Begins novelization. Other media ''Batman: The Animated Series'' and Batman Beyond * See: Talia al Ghul (Batman: The Animated Series) ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' She first appeared in "Sidekicks Assemble!", voiced by Andrea Bowen. where she and her father Ra's al Ghul on their flying island create plants to destroy Coast City, but was stopped by Robin, Speedy, and Aqualad. She later appeared in "Everybody Talks About the Weather!", where she is disappointed in her father for wanting Robin (who was later Nightwing) as his heir, she and her father later argued about it. While they captured Batman, she let him escape by Dr. Fate. She later was punished by her father for letting Batman escape. Until that, Batman was captured (all thanks to Gentleman Ghost and Lady Shiva) and unmasked by Ra's and was sawed by Talia that she remembers him in a homeage to Detective Comics Vol 1 #411 where she was kidnapped by Dr. Darrk and was rescued by Batman, and she killed Darrk. She later helped Batman escape from the bull he encountered in the same issue, with Ra's angered, he later uses an army of storm creatures to attack Bruce, but Blue Beetle and Guy Gardner by defeating Ra's (which accidently turns him into a stormed god), Bruce was useless, Ra's was about to deliver the final blow, until Talia tazered him losing all his ultimate powers back to aged old man and she vanquishedly killed him for attacking the one she loves. In the end, Talia gave one kiss to Bruce and left. * In "The Knights of Tomorrow!" (which is a book written by Alfred), Selina Kyle aka Catwoman is Bruce's wife and Damains mother instead of Talia. Film While she does not appear in Batman Begins, where Ra's al Ghul is the main villain, she is mentioned in the novelization and in al Ghul's character biography in the DVD special features. Video Games ''Batman: Dark Tomorrow'' Talia makes an appearance in the video game "Batman: Dark Tomorrow" as one of the main characters. She briefly cameos in the dialogue during the game's introduction, and then reappears again in some of the final missions and cutscenes, since Ra's al Ghul is featured as the main villain. ''Batman: Arkham City'' Talia has been confirmed to appear in Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, where she will be voiced by Stana Katic. Just recently, a picture of Talia is seen, where is actually inside the prison, Arkham City. Category: Villains Category: Allies Category:Batman: Arkham City Characters Category:The Society Members